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More Proba VStrange how the timing of things happening, but the table of contents for the International Journal of Remote Sensing's Special Issue: SPOT-VEGETATION - Fifteen years of success: What's next? dropped in to my inbox.... does what it says on the tin!

Proba V Data ProductsThis one had slipped past my radar (O dear....). Those with slightly longer memories will remember the introduction of VEGETATION on board SPOT 4 and 5, with PROBA designed to provide a continuation of this data. PROBA was a technology micro-satellite demonstrator (with the CHRIS hyperspectral imager), so fast forward a decade and PROBA-V is not only operational but its data (300m 4-band multispectral, although 100m at nadir) is freely available. Nice PDF factsheet and direct to ESA for image downloads. (thanks to Paolo for the tip!)

Heavenly SentinelsA nice summary article by Jonathan Amos over at the BBC on the EUs Sentinel series of satellites. Provides a good upbeat message for this ambitious EO programme, the impact of the Landsat programme (and how the removal of the $600 fee increased usage) and the future potential for the Sentinels, their use and space activities for the EU.

Long live the king.....Landsat 5 is no more......
On June 5, 2013, the U.S. Geological Survey Flight Operations Team transmitted the last command to the Landsat 5 satellite, effectively terminating the mission 29 years, 3 months and 4 days after its launch by NASA from Vandenberg Air Force Base on March 1, 1984....

The Long SwathGreat post from the NASA Earth Observatory Image of the Day - this is 9000km swatch running from Russia all the way down through Africa offering stunning images along the route. It was captured shortly after the calibration and testing of LDCM completed and it was moved into its operational orbit - note its not due to enter full operational status until late May. Watch the video FULL SCREEN. It is stunning.
And check out further details of "The Long Swath" which includes a fabulous GigaPan at full resolution.

Landsat 8: Landsat Data Continuity MissionThis passed me by for some reason last year, but a great summary on the Landsat Data Continuity Mission is available over at Remote Sensing of Environment. Gives a lot of detail on the instruments a is a great pre-cursor read to the impending wide availability of data.

Antarctic Archive DataJonathon Amos provides a nice overview of a team that put together a mosaic of archive data of Antarctica (published in The Cryosphere which is open access) from the 3-week long Nimbus-1 satellite from 1964. Its a great example of the importance of old data and how it adds to our knowledge of the Earth system.

First satellite imageWell almost.....i09 shown the first weather satellite image of the Earth. This was taken from TIROS 1, a research satellite launched in 1960 to test the efficacy of remote observation from space....

LDCM CalibrationNice article over at EO IofD as NASA/USGS prepare to ready LDCM for full operation status. As they say in the article....."You don’t just strap a satellite to a rocket, launch it, and voilà, it takes measurements." There's a bucket load more stuff to do. Worth having a read and watch as LDCM is prepared for routine data collection.

Saturn engines recoveredA pair of giant Saturn 5 rocket engines, used to launch the original US lunar missions from the 1960s have been recovered by a team sponsored by Amazon CEO, Jeff Bezos. A real part of space history!

UAVs and the lawUAVs are starting to the hit the big time with everything geospatial and are driving a hardware, data and software revolution along the way (more in later posts, but think open-source designs, open source software, massive datasets)....

Landsat 8 :: we a a goLandsat 8 is off the ground - Jonathon Amos provides some good background. Watch this space as it will take 3 months to make the satellite operational in terms of the correct orbit with Landsat 7 and fully calibrated. Then let the data roll.....

Drones hit the big time.......Very useful tech story over at The Guardian on the increasing civilian applications of drones (or UAVs to to the rest of us). The is a useful summary of the current status quo, perhaps the most telling part is this:
"Companies like this have to operate under strict legislation. Our flight in Chelsea Physic Garden required an operator's licence, permission from the Civil Aviation Authority and the police. Because of the urban environment, flight was limited to 100 feet and the local heliport had to be informed as soon as the vehicle was in the air. In the US, any commercial flight is banned."
UAVs offer a fascinating future for remote sensing....be warned, its going to be a bumpy road!

Jonathan Amos on Landsat 8With the launch of Landsat 8 just 23 days away expect to see plenty of Landsat glorification going on. Jonathan Amos has a nice summary piece, with plenty of imagery (see great example below), outlining the mission from the beginning and its future. Well worth a read.